South Africa makes progress in HIV, AIDS fight

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — In the early '90s when South Africa's Themba Lethu clinic could only treat HIV/AIDS patients for opportunistic diseases, many would come in on wheelchairs and keep coming to the health center until they died.Two decades later the clinic is the biggest anti-retroviral, or ARV, treatment center in the country and sees between 600 to 800 patients a day from all over southern Africa....

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Cliff fight may knock out December rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In normal times, next week's slew of U.S. economic data could be a springboard for a December rally in the stock market. December is historically a strong month for markets. The S&P 500 has risen 16 times in the past 20 years during the month. But the market hasn't been operating under normal circumstances since November 7 when a day after the U.S....

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Sony’s radical PlayStation 4 controller concept: A motion-control device you can split in half

While Nintendo (NTDOY) has been busy innovating with unique controllers on the Wii and Wii U, Sony’s (SNE) DualShock controller for its PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 has remained virtually the same since 1997. A newly discovered patent reveals Sony might be planning on a radical overhaul of the DualShock for the PlayStation 4 that’s rumored to arrive next year. U.S. patent 20120302347A1...

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What's the Latest Fashion Trend the Duchess Is Starting?

Stylewatch Style News Now 11/29/2012 at 06:15 PM ET Getty; Startraks (2)After a quiet Thanksgiving holiday, Hollywood stars were out en force this week, dazzling (and sometimes disappointing) in a whole host of haute looks. And just...

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Kenya village pairs AIDS orphans with grandparents

NYUMBANI, Kenya (AP) — There are no middle-aged people in Nyumbani. They all died years ago, before this village of hope in Kenya began. Only the young and old live here.Nyumbani was born of the AIDS crisis. The 938 children here all saw their parents die. The 97 grandparents — eight grandfathers among them — saw their middle-aged children die. But put together, the bookend generations take care of...

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Wall Street edges lower as "fiscal cliff" debate drags

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks dipped on Friday as President Barack Obama and top Republicans remained at odds about how to avert a series of tax hikes and spending cuts next year that could push the economy into recession. Trading has been choppy as investors react to a barrage of mixed statements from policymakers on the state of discussions about how to avoid going over the "fiscal cliff."...

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Study: DVRs now in half of US pay-TV homes

NEW YORK (AP) — A new survey finds that digital video recorders are now in more than half of all U.S. homes that subscribe to cable or satellite TV services.Leichtman Research Group‘s survey of 1,300 households found that 52 percent of the ones that have pay-TV service also have a DVR. That translates to about 45 percent of all households and is up from 13.5 percent of all households surveyed five...

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All the Details on Katie Holmes's Broadway Premiere Look

Stylewatch Style News Now 11/30/2012 at 11:00 AM ET Andrew H. Walker/GettyHer performance received good reviews, but we’re not so sure people will be raving about the outfit Katie Holmes selected for the Dead Accounts premiere...

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Clinton releases road map for AIDS-free generation

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an ambitious road map for slashing the global spread of AIDS, the Obama administration says treating people sooner and more rapid expansion of other proven tools could help even the hardest-hit countries begin turning the tide of the epidemic over the next three to five years."An AIDS-free generation is not just a rallying cry — it is a goal that is within our reach," Secretary...

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Wall Street trims gains, volatile after Boehner remarks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks climbed on Thursday, but shed some earlier gains, after John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, poured cold water on hopes that lawmakers were getting closer to cutting a budget deal that would avert a possible recession next year. Boehner's comment - that no "substantive" progress had been made in fiscal talks with the White House - was the latest in...

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Hacking Report Criticizes Murdoch Newspaper and British Press Standards

LONDON — The leader of a major inquiry into the standards of British newspapers triggered by the phone hacking scandal offered an excoriating critique of the press as a whole on Thursday, saying it displayed “significant and reckless disregard for accuracy,” and urged the press to form an independent regulator to be underpinned by law. Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesLord Justice Sir Brian Leveson...

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Dear President Obama: My White House petition requires your magical powers

By Chris WilsonSince President Barack Obama won reelection, the White House website for citizen petitions has received secession requests from all 50 states. In the case of Texas, more than 100,000 people have endured the inconvenience of entering their name and email address in order to support the state’s bid for autonomy. Apparently, in a sign of Americans’ growing distaste for physical activity,...

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Ellen Pompeo: My Neighbor Took My Chicken Egg

People Pets 11/29/2012 at 02:45 PM EST As the mother of a toddler, Ellen Pompeo is often forced to wake up early – with a little help from her rooster.During Tuesday's appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the actress, 43, dished about owning several hens and one male rooster, a fact that didn't go unnoticed...

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Simple measures cut infections caught in hospitals

CHICAGO (AP) — Preventing infections from surgery is a major concern for hospitals and it turns out some simple measures can make a big difference.A project at seven big hospitals reduced infections after colorectal surgeries by nearly one-third. It prevented an estimated 135 infections, saving almost $4 million.The measures included having patients shower with special germ-fighting soap before surgery,...

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Wall Street gains on hopes for "fiscal cliff" deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose in volatile trade on Wednesday after comments from the top Republican in Congress on a possible compromise to avoid the "fiscal cliff" turned the market on its head. House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said he was optimistic that a budget deal to avert large tax hikes and spending cuts currently under discussion in Washington could be reached....

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Top BBC Figures Acknowledge ‘Errors’ in Reporting Scandals

LONDON — Two of the most senior figures at the British Broadcasting Corporation said Tuesday that there had been “elementary” failures of the organization’s journalism and “appalling editorial judgment” when it wrongly implicated a former Conservative Party politician in sexual abuse, compounding a scandal that cost the BBC’s director general his job and plunged the organization deeper into crisis....

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Italian tax police probe Google Italy again

ROME (Reuters) – Italian police launched a new tax probe into Google Italy this week after earlier investigations found the group had failed to declare income and still owed sales tax, an economy ministry document showed on Wednesday.The earlier probe, which was launched by Italian financial police in 2007, found that Google had developed a system to transfer profits from its Italian operations to...

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Khloé Kardashian Spills the Secret of Her Family's Perfect Christmas Card

By Julia Haskins 11/28/2012 at 02:15 PM EST 'Tis the season for ... Photoshop?In an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The X Factor host Khloé Kardashian shared the secret of her family's annual Christmas card: If a family member can't attend the shoot, they get Photoshopped in to make the picture complete....

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CDC: HIV spread high in young gay males

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 1 in 5 new HIV infections occur in a tiny segment of the population — young men who are gay or bisexual.The government on Tuesday released new numbers that spotlight how the spread of the AIDS virus is heavily concentrated in young males who have sex with other males. Only about a quarter of new infections in the 13-to-24 age group are from injecting drugs or heterosexual...

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Wall Street slips on cliff caution, but homebuilders shine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks declined on Tuesday as wrangling continued in Washington over budget talks, while homebuilders' stocks outperformed the broader market after positive data. Strengthening the case for a sustained rebound in housing, single-family home prices rose for an eighth straight month in September. The PHLX housing sector index <.hgx> advanced 0.5 percent, with...

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Protesters Gather Again in Cairo Streets to Denounce Morsi

CAIRO — Thousands of people flowed into the streets of Cairo, the Egyptian capital, Tuesday afternoon for a day of protest against President Mohamed Morsi’s attempt to assert broad new powers for the duration of the country’s political transition, dismissing his efforts just the night before to reaffirm his deference to Egyptian law and courts. By early Tuesday afternoon in Cairo, a dense...

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Google Breaks All Android App Reviews, Threatens Android Fans’ Safety

“A Google User” is now the number one Android game and app reviewer on Google Play, Android’s version of Apple’s App Store. That’s because every single one of the millions of existing reviews, possibly including yours, has had its author replaced with this nameless, faceless person.Screenshots taken by Jeremiah Rice of the Android Police blog show this prolific (but completely generic) author has...

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Shakira Bares Her Baby Bump

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 11/27/2012 at 02:00 PM ET Pregnancy does a body good. So good that for Shakira, nine months might not cut it.Posting a picture to Instagram on Tuesday, the fresh-faced singer bares her bump — it’s a boy! — while snuggling up with her sweetie, boyfriend Gerard Piqué,...

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains,...

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Wall Street falls on caution after rally, retail drags

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slipped on Monday after Wall Street posted its best week in over five months as investors reacted to a lack of visible progress in budget deficit discussions in Washington. The S&P 500 was holding above the 1,400 level it retook last week, and volume continued to be weak as traders awaited any advance in talks over a series of spending cuts and tax hikes...

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Japan Expands Its Regional Military Role

Ko Sasaki for The New York TimesCoast guard officials from a dozen Asian and African nations, at right, joined a training cruise around Tokyo Bay aboard a Japanese Coast Guard cutter. TOKYO — After years of watching its international influence eroded by a slow-motion economic decline, pacifist Japan is trying to raise its profile in a new way, offering military aid for the first time in decades and...

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